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State of the Art of Water for Food Within the Nexus Framework

  • Nexus of Food, Water, Energy (R Mohtar, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Sustainable/Renewable Energy Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the state of knowledge regarding water for food within the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus framework. Three topics are considered: improved plant genetics; irrigation technology and practices; and urban agriculture.

Recent Findings

Research in plant genetics has sought to understand plant mechanisms that produce higher-yielding crops, identify and map genetic loci regions responsible for desirable plant traits, and introduce new and safe methods of precision plant breeding. In addition, new discoveries in irrigation practices are crucial in sustaining and further increasing yields as a result of improved irrigation water use efficiency through near-real time spatio-temporal monitoring of soil moisture, evapotranspiration, and rainfall. Urban agriculture has been proliferating in recent years, and recent research demonstrates the possibility of non-traditional, urban farming methods to produce food in a water- and land-efficient way.

Summary

Opportunities remain to increase water use efficiency and/or decrease water usage throughout the food supply chain. Food producers need to achieve greater value from the water used through enhanced management supported by new technology and guided by scientific findings evolving from multidisciplinary research. To achieve this, constant exchange is needed between regulatory agencies, farmers, food manufacturers, and researchers to ensure all stakeholders are up to date on the issues, policies, technologies, and discoveries related to water and food production sustainability.

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References

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Texas A&M WEF Nexus initiative.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Texas A&M University College Station, College Station, TX, USA

    Sonja Loy

  2. WEF Nexus Initiative, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    Sonja Loy & Jeffry Tahtouh

  3. Water Management and Hydrological Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    Jeffry Tahtouh

  4. Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    Clyde Munster

  5. Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    Kevin Wagner

  6. Cooperative Agricultural Research Center, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX, USA

    Ali Fares

  7. Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Texas A&M University, Vernon, TX, USA

    Srinivasulu Ale

  8. Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Vernon, Texas A&M University, Vernon, TX, USA

    Richard Vierling

  9. Texas A&M Agrilife Research and Extension Center, Texas A&M University, Dallas, TX, USA

    Fouad Jaber

  10. Texas A&M Agrilife and Extension Center, Texas A&M University, Temple, TX, USA

    Anish Jantrania

Authors
  1. Sonja Loy
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  2. Jeffry Tahtouh
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  3. Clyde Munster
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  4. Kevin Wagner
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  5. Ali Fares
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  6. Srinivasulu Ale
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  7. Richard Vierling
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  8. Fouad Jaber
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  9. Anish Jantrania
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Clyde Munster.

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Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Nexus of Food, Water, Energy

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Loy, S., Tahtouh, J., Munster, C. et al. State of the Art of Water for Food Within the Nexus Framework. Curr Sustainable Renewable Energy Rep 4, 130–136 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40518-017-0084-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40518-017-0084-2

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